Nick Warren and Tripswitch Reveal New Collaboration

We caught up with Nick Warren and Tripswitch to thank them for the amazing Master Series mix and the guys ended up spilling the beans on all their future plans

You guys first connected back in 2006, when Nick W licensed the Tripswitch track ‘Roll Your Own’ for his Global Underground ‘GU30 Paris’ compilation. How did things develop from there?

NW: I’ve always been a fan of Nick’s music and we have some close personal friends in common, so we would often see each other, and we both have very similar tastes in music old and new.

NT: I’ve still got the first email from Nick asking me if he could license that track, and whether I had any more to send over. It was a bit of a watershed moment for me, I’d had some great reviews and coverage for that album (‘Circuit Breaker’), but still regarded it as having a pretty niche appeal. I hadn’t realised how many notable ears it had found its way into – I only found out a year or two ago that it had been on regular rotation in the offices of Sasha’s Excession label/agency too.

When did you get your first opportunity to work together and who approached who?

NW: We had talked about it for years and I had started a remix of a track by Joey Fehrenbach called ‘Wolves’ and thought it would be good fun to do it with Nick.

NT: That remix was just right for our first outing, we both have an eclectic ear and love that whole indie dance / nu-disco sound. When Nick approached me about remixing that track, it made perfect sense to me – honestly, I think we were both hearing just about the same thing in our heads, so it was totally smooth and painless. The only thing that slows us down slightly is that Nick generally works in Ableton and I’m an old Logic head, but it’s easy enough to work around that. This positive experience definitely encouraged us to work on more stuff together.

The success of that remix led to you producing ‘Savannah’. Is there a story behind that one?

NW: We tend to bounce ideas back and forth, both adding our touch to it, this is one I started and Nick T really pulled it together.

NT: Yep, Savannah was Nick’s seed that I fed and watered 😉 I was in Ibiza when Nick sent the v1 project over… looking out across the water from our apartment on the cliffs at Cala Llenya, hearing those hooks he’d come up with (that classic Warren / Way Out West warmness and familiarity to them) it was instant inspiration! So, I had to sketch out some additions there and then, so I wouldn’t lose the moment! Then its was back to the studio to get it all sounding right.

‘Voight Kampff’ (onedotsixtwo) is your third collaboration – how did that come about?

NW: Nick T’s baby this one, he started this project and I loved it from the beginning, such a wicked melody on this!

NT: Quality control in action on ‘Voight Kampff’. I’d originally sent a couple of other ideas over to Nick, and to be honest, I was in a bit of a creative lull and wasn’t convinced about them myself. Nick’s underwhelming response was that I needed to cut my losses on them and move on. So, then I sketched out the first few minutes of ‘Voight Kampff’ and everything felt right. Nailing a good melody or motif is the most satisfying feeling in the world. This might sound really pretentious, but it was literally written with my eyes closed, just feeling the keys and fingers being driven by the melody itself. Some of my most successful melodies have emerged that way, that’s just the way it works sometimes… When I sent that sketch over to Nick, he mailed straight back and I knew we were onto a winner.

What’s it like working together on studio projects? What’s the creative dynamic? How does it compare to working with other artists or working solo?

NW: Like most projects it’s a bouncing ideas back and forth and seeing what sticks kinda thing, the good old Internet has made collaborations a breeze.

NT: It seems like we really complement each other creatively. I’m really driven by melody, that’s why I naturally fell into writing chillout tracks for so many years. Nick is as well, but he also brings his impeccable taste and vast club experience to the table and I’ve learnt a lot about the dynamics of writing a solid dance track through working with him. I’ve done a couple of tracks with Gavin GMJ too, which are both coming out this month – having worked more or less solo for so many years, collaborating with the right people who you gel with musically and personally can be a real force for growth.

Cid Inc. has produced a remix of ‘Voight Kampff’ to accompany your original, which seems to be doing rather well in the Beatport chart.

NT: Henri totally smashed it didn’t he! His mix is getting a lot of love, and rightly so. It’s the epitome of quality progressive – a real epic, drawn out journey that carries you along on waves of emotion. As of this moment, we’ve got both the Cid Inc and Original mixes in the Prog House Top 10, couldn’t have asked for a better result! J And Öona Dahl’s remixes have also been doing well in their respective charts, she created 2 deep and beautiful interpretations that really complement the others.

You selected some very interesting tracks our masters series mix

NW: We wanted to choose some old tracks from each other that we admired and some current favourites from our labels and tastes.

NT: Yeah, we thought it would be nice to look back a wee bit as well as looking forward. I even dug out my old Way Out West ‘Montana’ 12” in case we could squeeze it in! But ‘The Gift’ is a truly seminal dance classic and that one was a must for me. Nick selected ‘Roll Your Own’ from my back catalogue, that’s always a winner. Then it was a case of taking it in a direction that we thought represented the best of the new progressive sound, in its various forms. I’m just massively excited by some of the music coming out this year.

We’re hearing whispers that you’re working on some new tracks together – anything you can tell us about this?

NW: Yes, we have another track in the pipeline, it’s a bit of a monster but very much under wraps at present, hopefully it will get an airing in Miami.

NT: Its all hands to the pumps these next 2 weeks to get that one finished up for Miami. As Nick said, it’s a bit special, we’d love to tell you more, but our lips are sealed right now. We’ve also been talking about doing something for Hope, but time is always the issue with Nick’s insane schedule and my slightly less insane one.

Any plans for some live B2B DJ sets? Ibiza this summer, perhaps?

NW: Nick T will join us for our first ever The Soundgarden event in the UK this summer, which will be on the rooftop at the iconic Colston Hall (in Bristol) and there are some other plans in the pipeline too.

NT: I’m very excited for the Soundgarden Bristol show, always a pleasure to play alongside Nick. We did a B2B a few years ago at Kimberley Festival and I think we have another one pencilled in for next year in London. In the meantime we’ll see what turns up! No doubt our paths will be crossing through the summer.

Nick W your Soundgarden brand is taking off into the stratosphere. Tell us what you’ve got coming up both label and tour wise?

NW: Thanks! We have a ton of stuff coming up, I’ve signed some amazing music to the label for this year from artists as diverse as Black8, Matan Caspi, Erdi Imak and many more. Tour wise, The Soundgarden events are returning to Miami WMC later this month as well as Argentina, Uruguay and Ibiza, to mention a few.

Nick T, onedotsixtwo is continuing to impress with its output. Any hot things in the pipeline you want to tell us about?

NT: I couldn’t be happier with how the label has landed! The first 3 releases have been really successful with a lot of support and fantastic chart positions. Quality is all important, especially in these early stages as we’re establishing the brand, and I’m really cherry-picking the cream of the crop. Next up is a fantastic release from Luka Sambe & Filter Bear, and we’ve got more coming from some masters of their art, such as James Monro, Charlie May, Thankyou City, Roger Martinez, Sonic Union, Chris Cargo and more… We’ll also be bringing forward some new talent to add to the pool of awesomeness. And we’re now looking ahead to staging some onedotsixtwo events in Ibiza, London and hopefully ADE in the autumn.